MONROE, N.J.—New Jersey could begin distributing federal grant funding to homeowners and businesses impacted by superstorm Sandy as early as May, with the state laying the foundation now to begin allocating the funds as soon as they are made available, New Jersey’s top recovery official said Wednesday.

The executive director of New Jersey’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding, Marc-Philip Ferzan, said in one of his first public appearances since his appointment in November that officials have an “aggressive strategy” in working with the federal government to get funds flowing as quickly as possible.

“We recognize that businesses can’t wait,” said Ferzan, speaking before the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce in Monroe Wednesday. “We are literally on the goal line waiting to cross it.”

Nearly six months since Sandy struck the region on Oct. 29, large stretches of New Jersey are back to normal, but for other areas, “there remains a long way to go,” Ferzan said. More than 40,000 homes and 15,000 rentals suffered significant damage during the storm, said Ferzan , citing new data.

The storm caused nearly half a billion in commercial property and business interruption losses, and $25 billion in community and infrastructure damages have been identified to date, he said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency so far has identified $808 million in damages from the storm in New Jersey. In order to achieve the highest level of reimbursement from FEMA, the state needs to reach damage costs of $1.15 billion, and Ferzan anticipated reaching that threshold by the summer.

The federal government would then reimburse 90% of New Jersey’s damages from the storm, with the state and local governments picking up the rest. The federal government currently is set to reimburse 75% of the costs.

“We have an aggressive strategy working with FEMA every day,” Ferzan said.

Christie appointed his former colleague to the cabinet-level position after speaking to the leaders of other flood-prone states—such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barber and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—about the need to have a central point person to respond to the aftermath of a storm.

“Marc is the guy in charge of this,” Christie said after appointing the Lawrenceville resident in November. “He has complete access to me anytime he wants it.”

Ferzan is being paid $144,000 in the role and took a “significant salary cut” from his previous position as a managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisors to assume the role, Christie said. Previously, Ferzan worked for more than eight years in leadership positions at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which Christie led prior to be electing governor in 2009.